The System Of American Government Information Resources Management

Information Resources Management (IRM) is a new research field from the end of the 1970s and the early 1980s,which means make the management of information,Information Technology(IT),information equipment,information staff and related resources,emphasizing the integrate management of information content,IT information staff and related factors.Government information resources management is a major branch of this subject. Under the unique circurmustance,the main force of government information resources management is administrative organ,so that it can't exist without administrative system.American government information resources management system is inside of American political institution,affected by it. The principle of Federaliam is three-level governmental systems,which are U.S. governemt,state governments and local governemts. The principle of decentralization and balance shows that administrative organizations are responsible for the application of information resource management and Congress is supervision institutions. The principle of law emphasizes that IRM must comply to the requirement of the laws and regulations. A great number of legislations authorised by Congress,such as Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996, E-Government Act of 2002. and executive orders and administrative regulations form the legal framework for U.S. government's IRM. Paperwork Reduction Act is the complete law on the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination, and disposition of information by or for the modern government. It defines the information resources management, formulates the frame for government information resources management and requests government to bring information management expense into government finance budget. Paperwork Reduction Act also hereby becomes the milestone to the information resource management development, and is honored as the symbol to the formation of information resource management theory. E-Government Act of 2002 also becomes the milestone to the information resource management development,which offers another opportunity for government to make full use of IT and make the government to recognize the important value of the IT. IT is the kind of productivity and is the vital part of the government's information resource management, as the kind of strategic resources,which can help the government to improve its efficiency. The same as the 20 years ago,record management evolving into information resources management,the government is trying to make full use of IT and accerlerate the development of the government information resources management.Under the laws, regulations, executive orders and administrative regulations,the government sets the special administritive organs and professionals to carry out information management activities from centralization to localization.We devide the whole government system into three levels.The leading institutions and supervision institutions are in the top level,which serve for the plan and cooperation of the government's information resources management; Cabinet-level management departments are in the second level,including fifteen departments,which play the part in the make of reulations and in the application of information resources management strategy inside of their departments; bureau-level departments are in the third level, setting the secial information resources management units,which report to OMB and Congress and cooperate in the information activities among the departments.In each level,all of the activities should comply to the laws, executive orders and administrative rules.According to constitution,legislations,executive orders and administrative regulations, U.S. government sets specialized management departments and employs full-time managers to practice IRM from centralization to localization. Centralization and coordination are the features of U.S. government's IRM,which improved and developed in the information age. Our country should learn the successful experiences from America,improving the system of information laws and regulations,strengthening the special departments of information resources managements,strengthening the cultivation of professionals and accerlerating the development of IT projects among the agencies.This thesis based on the literature investigation, the investigation on website to summarize the features of U.S. government's IRM and contribute to our government's IRM.The thesis contains seven sections. The first section briefly introduces the background and the research status at home and abroad. The second part demonstrates the institution of U.S. government's IRM. The third paragraph concludes the legal framwork of U.S. government's IRM.The forth parts analyzes the departments and staff of U.S. government's IRM.The fifth section outlines the features of U.S. government's IRM in the Web environment.The sixth section analyzes the features of U.S. government's IRM and provides some possible methods to accelerate our government's IRM. The final one makes a brief summary in terms of the whole thesis.